In a Pit

OK, let's just face it. If this were a book review blog, it would have sadly failed prior to onset! I'm just not a huge reader, but I'm trying. I just finished the book In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson and by far my favorite chapter of all is right there at the end - all about being foolish. Here's my favorite excerpt (well, one of the anyway!):

But here's the deal: If you aren't willing to look foolish, you're foolish. In fact, faith is the willingness to look foolish.

Noah looked foolish building an ark in the desert. Sarah looked foolish buying maternity clothes at ninety. The Israelites looked foolish marching around Jericho blowing trumpets. David looked foolish attacking Goliath with a slingshot. Beniah looked foolish chasing a lion. The wise men looked foolish chasing a yonder star. Peter looked foolish stepping out of a boat in the middle of the lake. And Jesus looked foolish hanging half-naked on the cross.

But that's the essence of faith. And the results speak for themselves...

... Can I tell you why some people have never killed a giant or walked on water or seen the walls come tumbling down? It's because they weren't willing to look foolish...

... The greatest breakthroughs, miracles and turning points in Scripture can be traced back to someone who was willing to look foolish. (pp 149-150)

This whole chapter really resonated with me. I really do think that I don't act foolish enough about Jesus, but I kind of chuckled to myself the other day when 2 of my Facebook friends, one I know very little of (but love his wife!) and the other an old friend from my pre-college days, both chose as a Superlative for me "Most Likely to Kick it With Jesus". Really? I'm glad they think so... or am I? Well, anyway, I love Jesus and if my friends don't know that then I'm in deep do-do.

Back to the book (this is why I don't do book reviews - I'm way too ADHD!).... I wonder to myself why we live so close to DC and we've not yet visited this guy's church. I've got another post on the horizon about why I think we have not wandered down south yet... that's for later. Back again. Here's what I love most about this book as a whole: it's a book for everyone who has a dream to chase. It's not a book about everything Christians do wrong (I'm really not liking those kinds) but about how to do life better, how to live, how to put your heart into living for God despite all the negative messages heading your directions. It's about chasing lions AND chasing dreams. I really think there's something for everyone, Christian or not, about grasping onto and holding onto passion. It's quite inspiring.

OK, so I'm not a great book reviewer, but I did love the book and thought of several people I'd love to have read it. It's been fun reading it in our small group, throwing around the ideas and our own dreams. So, if you have some time and can keep an open mind, I say give it a whirl. It's high on my list of recommendations. Now I'm off to tackle one of my lions: my (messy) house!!